Each year in the United States there are nearly 150,000 minors as young as 10 years old booked into confinement facilities for reasons ranging from truancy to violent crime. Many have histories of abuse, abandonment and addiction. Over the past eight years, Ross has traveled to juvenile detention facilities across the country, photographing young prisoners and recording their stories. The result is large-scale photographs which focus on the young people Ross has encountered, accompanied by their own personal stories.

The more recent photographs by Ross include the young women he met in juvenile detention centers all over the United States. The images, along with the heart-wrenching personal stories, will be featured at the Figge in Girls in Justice for the first time publically. The exhibition will open Saturday in the fourth-floor gallery, and will be on view until March 15.

Ross's earlier work with both young men and women will be included in Juvenile in Justice at Augustana Teaching Museum of Art beginning March 9. The photographs put a face on juvenile detention centers and allow the viewer a glimpse into the lives of these inmates. The exhibition will be on display through April 18.

Both exhibitions are funded through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Ross holds the title of Distinguished Professor of Art at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His work has been exhibited internationally, and monographs of his work have been published, including in Museology and The Architecture of Authority. Ross has published two books in conjunction with this project: Juvenile in Justice, with a foreword by Ira Glass, host of NPR's This American Life; and Girls in Justice, with a foreword by Marian Ross Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund. Both books will be available in the Figge Museum Store.

Companion Programming:

FIGGE EVENTS:

Film: What I Want My Words to Do to You

6 p.m. Thursday, January 29 • John Deere Auditorium

This documentary of a writing workshop led by playwright Eve Ensler takes an unprecedented look into

the minds and hearts of the women inmates of New York's Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.

Any One of Us: Words from Prison

7 p.m. Thursday, February 19

Augustana students will perform a collection of stories written by women in prison moving toward healing

and change as they use their voices to impact policy, laws and treatment of incarcerated women.

Closing Reception/Artist Talk

Thursday, March 12

5:30 p.m. Closing Reception • 7 p.m. Artist Talk

Mingle with Figge members and photographer Richard Ross before joining Ross in the Figge auditorium

for a talk about his experiences.

Exhibition Tours

1:30 p.m. Sunday, January 25, February 22

1:30 p.m. Saturday, January 31

AUGUSTANA EVENTS:

Juvenile in Justice Opening Reception

4 p.m. Friday, March 13

Augustana Teaching Museum of Art, Centennial Hall

Richard Ross will be present at the reception to chat with attendees.

Panel Discussion

7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24

Augustana Teaching Museum of Art, Centennial Hall

A panel discussion on issues of juvenile injustice as it relates to the Quad-Cities area.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members, and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

About Augustana Teaching Museum or Art

The Augustana Teaching Museum of Art is in Centennial Hall on Augustana's campus at 3701 7^th Avenue. The museum consists of a permanent collection of 4,250 art objects and also sponsors a rotating series of gallery exhibitions and programs during its annual season, serving more that 35,000 visitors each year. Hours are noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday when school is in session. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information about the museum please call 309.794.7469, or visit www.augustana.edu/artmuseum.

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LEXINGTON, Ky.--While 27 states and the District of Columbia chose to expand Medicaid eligibility to 138 percent of the federal poverty level by the end of 2014, more states are likely to consider expansion in 2015.

Debra Miller, CSG's director of health policy, said states that expand this year are likely to follow the lead of Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania and design state-specific programs that will require a waiver from the federal government.

"The pressures on the states that have not already expanded Medicaid are growing," Miller said. "Providers, especially hospitals, worry about their revenues. Many in the dollars-and-cents crowd worry about the economic loss of leaving federal money on the table. Consumer advocates tout the advantages of health insurance coverage not just for those newly covered, but for employers and the overall economy."

The federal government will reimburse states 100 percent of the cost of expansion for calendar years 2014 through 2016, and at a reduced rate thereafter.

Miller listed Medicaid expansion as the top health care-related issue facing state policymakers in 2015. The Council of State Governments this week released its annual listing of top 5 issues legislators will face this year in education, energy and the environment, federal affairs, fiscal and economic development, health, international affairs, interstate compacts, transportation and workforce development.

The Medicaid expansion was a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will again loom large in states. Twenty-seven states are served by a federally facilitated health insurance exchange, while 14 states opted to operate a state-run health insurance exchange. Three states have a federally supported marketplace and seven are served by a state-federal partnership marketplace. A case before the Supreme Court this term raises questions about the subsidies for insurance coverage under those federal exchanges.

"Depending upon the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the exchange and insurance subsidy question, states could be forced into another round of decisions around ACA implementation," Miller said.

Other health issues will compete for the attention of state policymakers, Miller said. Among the questions they'll need to consider, she said, are these: "How can states make sure there are enough health care providers to deliver the right services at the right time? How will aging baby boomers change demands on the health care system? Will parity between physical health and behavioral health be achieved? How can the scourge of heroin and prescription drug abuse be stopped?"

Health care costs account for one of every six dollars spent in the economy.

"The growing share of states' budgets spent on health care--not just Medicaid, but state employee benefits, state retiree health care, and health costs in corrections as well--dictates that each dollar be spent as efficiently and effectively as possible," Miller said.

She said states will look at integrating health and human services to "break down artificial funding and service silos." They also will increasingly apply evidence-based standards to guide programs and services, she said.

"State policymakers will look to tackle upstream factors such as poverty, racism and educational achievement in order to reduce downstream costs," said Miller.

WASHINGTON, January 14, 2015 - TODAY, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce that over 100 projects across all 50 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will receive funding as part of the new USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). In turn, these projects will leverage in partner contributions expected to double the impact of the Federal funds, and improve the nation's water quality, support wildlife habitat and enhance the environment.  The program was funded through the 2014 Farm Bill.

Participants: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Chief Jason Weller, Natural Resources Conservation Service

TIME: 11:15 Eastern, Wednesday, January 14, 2015

PRESS CONFERENCE PARTICIPANT ACCESS:

Dial: 800-857-9832

PASSCODE: RCPP (Given Verbally)

Trouble number - 202-720-8560

All callers using the above passcode will be placed in listen only mode.  To join the Q&A portion of the meeting, these callers are instructed to press *1 on their touch tone phone.

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Community invited to experience laugher yoga and learn how it will benefit their groups or businesses

DAVENPORT, IA (January 13, 2015) - Senior Star at Elmore Place is pleased to host the greater Quad Cities community on January 20 and February 3 at 4502 Elmore Avenue to experience the buzz about its laughter yoga program and learn why so many local groups are asking to bring the program to their businesses.

As part of an ongoing wellness focus, Senior Star has incorporated laughter yoga into its programming for the past four years.  A popular activity among the residents at Senior Star, laughter yoga has consistently been a frequent choice for entertainment and health benefits.  Additionally, as its popularity has risen among residents, so has the request to bring laughter yoga to the greater Quad Cities community.  Thus far, Senior Star associates have provided the program for community support groups, stroke survivors, chronic pain and brain injury sufferers and employee wellness programs.  Well known businesses and organizations such as Genesis, John Deere and United Health Care have requested Senior Star's laughter yoga program for their patients and/or employees.

"As a collaborator and good neighbor, we feel it's our responsibility to 'pay it forward' by providing this community service to our greater Quad Cities' friends," said Courtney Maddox, Senior Star independent living program director and certified laughter yoga instructor.

In order to know Senior Star's laughter yoga program and how it can help many businesses, community groups and individuals in the Quad Cities, Senior Star is hosting a community laughter yoga extravaganza on the following dates:

·         Tuesday, January 20 at 1 p.m.

·         Tuesday, February 3 at 12:30 p.m.  Lunch will be included at this program.

Please RSVP no later than one day prior to the date you would like to attend by calling 563.484.5114.

If you are unable to attend one of these dates and would like to learn more about how your group can request one of Senior Star's certified laughter yoga instructors, call 563.484.5114.

For more information about Senior Star at Elmore Place or to schedule a tour, call 563.484.5114 or visit the website at www.seniorstar.com.

About Senior Star at Elmore Place

Senior Star at Elmore Place, a Senior Star community, features 236 modernly decorated apartments spanning across 20 acres of beautifully landscaped property with many customized amenities to offer its residents three distinctive living experiences:  independent living, assisted living and memory care.  For more information, visit www.seniorstar.com.

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